51% of Needs Addressed: How the Link Local Coordination Mechanism for Humanitarian Response Works in Hromadas Retaken by Ukraine in Mykolaivska and Khersonska Oblasts

Publication date: August 14, 2025

Since the start of its operation and as of mid-July 2025, the Link platform has collected 6,261 needs from residents of 24 Hromadas Retaken by Ukraine in Khersonska and Mykolaivska Oblasts. We analyzed what communities need the most, which needs are met more often, and which less frequently.

The Link local coordination mechanism for humanitarian response is implemented by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the Czech Organization “People in Need” and with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom.

More than half of the needs (51.34%) collected on the platform have now been addressed or lost their relevance. This indicates the effectiveness of the local coordination mechanism in identifying unmet and overlooked needs. This is made possible by an extensive network of informants in the Hromadas and continuous verification of needs from at least two sources.

Distribution of Needs by Clusters: What Do Hromadas Need the Most?

All the needs that we collect and verify in hromadas are divided into eight clusters: housing and non-food items, heating, gas and electricity supply, water, sanitation and hygiene, food, healthcare, animal care and livestock, security, and service.
Each cluster contains various sub-clusters that specify the need in more detail, as well as its description.

For example, the “Housing and Non-Food Items” cluster includes such sub-clusters as construction mixes, tableware, building materials, bed linen, clothing, and others.
The “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” cluster includes equipment for water supply systems, hygiene kits, water containers, drinking water, and others.

Thus, each cluster encompasses diverse needs in varying quantities. The “Service” cluster includes non-material requests such as legal assistance or evacuation services.

In both Khersonska and Mykolaivska oblasts, three clusters — housing and non-food items, healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene — are the leaders in terms of the number of needs, with a significant gap from the others. In Khersonska Oblast, these clusters account for 85% of all needs, while in Mykolaivska Oblast — 74%.

Within the “Housing and Non-Food Items” cluster, the most frequent needs are electrical goods, furniture, garden tools, and instruments. The largest category, “Other”, currently includes various requests that occur irregularly and have not yet been assigned to separate subcategories — for example, requests for financial assistance for households, Starlink for shelters, or printers for Points of Invincibility. It is important to note that users of the Hromada Cabinet can suggest a new category, and accordingly, we will consider these suggestions for further improvement and clarification of the categories in the system.

Within the “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” cluster, the most common needs are hygiene kits, adult and child diapers, drinking water, as well as water supply equipment.

The Top 5 needs in the “Healthcare” cluster are mobility aids, painkillers, medical equipment, digestive medications, and “Other”. The “Other” subcluster in this case covers a wide range of medical requests that do not fall under other categories. For example, arranging appointments with doctors (dentist, ophthalmologist, cardiologist), a hearing aid, insulin (noting that there is no pharmacy or feldsher-midwife station (FAP) in the village), a commode chair, or leg prosthesis replacement.

Which Needs Are Met the Most and Which the Least?

Among the largest number of needs met in Khersonska Oblast are hygiene kits, painkillers, mobility aids, child hygiene items, and the “Other” category, which in this case included various specific medicines and supplies.

Among the least satisfied needs are hygiene kits, gardening tools, electrical appliances, cash assistance, and again the “Other” category, which included requests for equipment (a school bus, an excavator, a vehicle) and small household items (paper, power banks, extension cords, a kettle). The fact that the need for hygiene kits appears on both lists shows the large number of requests for this type of assistance.

In Mykolaiv Oblast, hygiene kits are also among the top five needs most frequently met, but they are absent from the least met list. In addition, frequently met needs in the oblast include mobility aids, bedding, a gas stove, and baby diapers.

Among those that are rarely met are slate roofing, water supply equipment, cold medicines, premises arrangements, and tablets for children’s education.

We also analysed the most common needs among those that lost relevance across all hromadas. Hygiene kits, mobility aids, and adult diapers again appear among the top five needs, indicating their large number. The loss of relevance of firewood requests points to their seasonality. In this case, the “Other” category includes financial assistance, specific medicines, agricultural goods, etc.

The analysis of data collected through the Link platform shows that the most requested items among residents of hromadas retaken by Ukraine are hygiene products, medicines and medical supplies, and various household items. 

In Which Hromadas Was the Largest Number of Needs Recorded? 

The largest number of needs was recorded in Vysokopilska Hromada, Beryslavskyi District, Khersonska Oblast — 678. In Bereznehuvatska and Shevchenkivska Hromadas of Mykolaivska Oblast, as well as in Novovorontsovska, Kochubeivska, Velykooleksandrivska, and Bilozerska Hromadas of Khersonska Oblast, more than 400 needs were recorded.

What Services Are Needed in Hromadas?

A total of 83 needs were classified as services: 58 requests in Khersonska Oblast and 25 requests in Mykolaivska Oblast.

The most frequently requested are recovery process services and the “Other” category. Recovery process services include various requests related to repair or reconstruction: deepening of a well, replacement of a water supply system, repair of feldsher-midwife stations, roads, schools, and kindergartens.

The “Other” category in this case included various individual requests: children’s activities, transportation service for a group of children to a competition, etc. In second place are requests for legal services, and there are nine requests for psychological services.

Informants: Who Are They and Why Is Their Role Key?

The Link mechanism focuses on unmet and overlooked needs of hromadas. We collect and verify needs very thoroughly — from at least two sources. Such an approach is possible thanks to an extensive system of informants in hromadas. At the moment, there are 902 people in 24 hromadas.

Informants are people of different professions and social status who live in hromadas. Among them are activists and volunteers, social workers, heads of schools and kindergartens, representatives of local self-government, feldshers, and heads of libraries. The table below contains the most common positions of informants.

Thanks to the wide circle of engaged individuals, we are able to effectively collect and verify overlooked and unmet needs.
This material was prepared by the Legal Development Network in cooperation with the Czech Humanitarian Organisation “People in Need” and with the financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom.
The conclusions presented in the material, as well as interpretations of the collected information, reflect solely the position of the authors and do not represent the views of the donors and project partners.

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